Chapter 15 #2
Claire seems to get it, gazing out the window, one elbow bent on the sill, her ocean eyes hidden behind dark glasses.
She got changed at the store, and is wearing only her new bikini and rash top, which is really fucking distracting.
I wrench my focus back to the drive and try to figure out my next steps.
Kiss Claire. As many times as she’s happy for me to.
Okay. I can’t seem to get past that step, though, thoughts of where that kissing might lead making me shift in my seat.
I guess bringing her to meet Mum would be next.
I have to wonder, though, why I’m doing that, when this is a fake relationship that’s only going to last until the end of the month.
It’s a question I’m finding difficult to answer.
I realise we’re already almost back at Fairhaven.
I’ve driven this road so many times I didn’t really notice where we were, driving on autopilot.
Claire is still looking out the window, wind tousling her long hair.
There’s silence between us, but it’s comfortable, like she knows I needed that time to sort myself out.
My chest warms, and I can’t resist touching her bare thigh once more.
“You sure you still want that swim?”
She turns to me, her lips curving. “Yes.”
Have I mentioned I want her? Because I fucking do. But I also like just having her around me. And that’s terrifying and exciting at the same time.
My life is pretty messed up at the moment, and I probably shouldn’t be bringing people into it. But in this instance, I don’t think I’ll be able to stop.
Claire
Bryce parks the car, turning off the engine.
There’s no sound but the hiss and roar of the ocean, the occasional swish of a car going by.
It’s peaceful, the headland rising as the road continues, curving around it.
The sun is still bright, and there are a few people in the water, the car park pretty full.
I’m worried about Bryce. I don’t know how someone I didn’t even know a week ago has got under my skin so quickly, but I can’t deny it.
I saw his expression drop when he got that text, and I know something is wrong.
But it’s none of my business. So, sensing he needed space to sort out his thoughts, I kept quiet on the way back to the beach, enjoying the wind on my skin, the scent of salt and eucalyptus.
And if my thoughts drifted back to our kisses again, to the absolutely electric moment when I felt his tongue on my neck and immediately wondered how it would feel elsewhere on my body, I suppose no one can blame me for that.
A swim will clear my head and, hopefully, chase some of his shadows away.
If he wants to talk to me about whatever’s going on with him, I’ll listen, of course I will.
And if he doesn’t, then I can’t be offended.
I need to remember that in three weeks’ time he’ll walk away and all this will be a memory.
The pain in my chest at the thought of our inevitable end is just a sign I’m getting too involved too quickly.
I need to pull back and keep things professional, remember what we’re both supposed to be doing.
So, as we get out of the car, I pull him close to me for a couple of selfies, kissing him on the cheek.
But I’m surprised when he turns, pulling me to him, his mouth descending on mine once more.
My hand drops, my phone forgotten as his tongue tangles with mine, my entire body tingling and hyper-aware of the hard muscular form pressed against it.
His hands travel down my back, cupping my ass, his touch heating my skin.
The fabric between us feels far too thin and, at the same time, totally in the way.
Holy shit. How am I going to get through this month without catching feelings? It might already be too late for that.
He releases me, and his voice is shaky. “Uh, shall we go?”
I nod, unable to speak, clinging to his hand as we take the underpass to the beach. My legs feel like jelly, and I just want more more more of him, want his hands, his tongue, every part of him on me. A dip in cold water is exactly what I need to shock myself back to my senses.
But he pulls his T-shirt over his head, dropping it on the sand, then drags me into the waves with him, wrapping his arms around me as water slams into us. I cling to him, laughing and gasping as he kisses me again.
“Is this okay with you, Claire?” His mouth is so close to mine. “Because I’ll stop. Just say the word.”
“Don’t stop,” I say, kissing him back. I grab his ass, feeling the hard muscles beneath the thin nylon shorts.
He growls against me, and I can feel a growing hardness pressing into my stomach.
His hands slide over my body, then one comes between us, cupping my breast, his thumb playing with my erect nipple. Holy fuck. This is going too fast.
I push against him, slightly. He releases me and we stare at each other, both panting. Waves smash into our thighs, wet heat still pulsing between my legs.
“I’m sorry if—” he starts.
I shake my head. “No. Nothing to be sorry for. I just… It’s moving fast, that’s all.”
He nods. “It is.” He holds my gaze. “This isn’t what I expected when we started this. I don’t want you to feel pressured in any way, Claire.”
“I know.” I do know it. I don’t care what kind of reputation he has. The Bryce I know is nothing but thoughtful and kind, a decent guy. Someone I want to get to know in more ways than one. “And I don’t. Feel pressured, that is.”
We both stare at each other some more. Then he smiles. “So, what happens now? Do you want to keep going with this?”
“With…?”
“Getting to know each other. Properly. We might have a deal, but I can’t deny there’s something between us. So if you feel the same way, I’d like to explore that… Explore you.”
Fuck. The way he says, “Explore you.” My entire pelvis clenches in response. I want him to explore me. I want to explore him. Preferably while naked.
But I also need to be careful. The little voice, the warning voice that lives in my mind ever since Simon, rears its head.
I kind of hate that voice. But, at the same time, I know it’s looking out for me.
I don’t let a lot of people into my life.
If I’m going to let Bryce in, it has to be for more than just lust.
“I’d like to explore that, too.” I feel breathless, light as air, as though I might dissolve into sea foam like the little mermaid.
“I just… Can we take it slow?” I kind of wince when I say it.
Bryce is used to threesomes and god knows what else.
Why would he bother with a sad little virgin like me?
Not that he knows I’m a virgin. Not yet.
But he just smiles. “You set the pace,” he says. “I’ll just follow where you lead.”
“Well, maybe not in the surf.” I laugh a shaky laugh. “You might need to take the lead out here.”
His smile widens. “Yeah, possibly.” Before I can react, he lunges forward, picking me up in his arms and taking me out into the waves.
I scream with laughter, hanging on to him as he drops forward, submerging us both.
I emerge spluttering, still giggling, smoothing the hair back from my face, blinking salt from my eyes.
The water is only chest deep, thank god, but the waves rolling over us are big enough and I have to jump with each one.
“I needed a cold dip,” he says, with a wicked glance. “Thought you might too. C’mon, I’ll race you back to shore.”
He catches the next wave, bodysurfing it towards the golden curl of sand. I do the same, delighting in the pound and roar of water against my body, the feeling of being tumbled and taken by a force larger and more powerful than I could ever be.
It kind of feels like how things are with Bryce. What started as a simple agreement has, in the space of just a week, become something far more. I can let it tumble me, stranding me on the shore. Or I can ride it, and see where it takes me.
I decide to ride.